Thank you everybody who commented. It was so nice to log on and see all of the encouraging comments. :D
King Cendrid is the ruler of the kingdom that Ealdor is in. Although, unlike in "The Moment of Truth" (which hasn't taken place yet), Camelot and Cendrid's kingdom have no alliance. Since I don't actually know the name of the kingdom, I am going to use Valeska.
Now, on with the story.
Disclaimer: Still haven't figured out how to buy the plot and cast of Merlin. I am working on it though.
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It was only a few hours later that Merlin found himself walking through the halls of the castle, brushing off seeds and bits of lettuce off his shoulder as he went. He wasn't too angry at Arthur, after all, it was his big mouth that got him thrown into the stocks to begin with. However, it would have been nice of Arthur to get him out of them. Merlin scoffed to himself, yeah right, like Arthur would give up the opportunity to make fun of him. And despite Arthur leaving him in the stocks, Merlin did hope for Arthur's sake that his meeting with Uther was going well.
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While Merlin was silently wondering how Arthur was doing, Arthur was pacing the length of the throne room, waiting for his father. Unfortunately for Arthur's anger, Uther had been occupied for the past few hours, giving Arthur ample time to stew.
"My lord, I brought you something to drink."
Arthur turned around to see a young woman setting down a tray with a goblet of wine on top. Arthur had seen her about the castle and had seen her hang around with Merlin, but he couldn't put a name to the face. "Thank you…." he let it hang, hoping she would fill in the blank.
"Guinevere, my Lord, but most people call me Gwen. I mean…if that's what you want…" Gwen blushed. She hated the fact that she became so flustered, so easily.
Arthur didn't know how to respond to the obviously nervous maid, so he just readily downed the much needed drink. Once he was done he noticed Gwen slip away at the same time as the throne room doors were thrown open.
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Uther had spent the majority of the day with ambassadors from Valeska, King Cendrid's kingdom. For many years, Valeska and Camelot had been pitted against each other, mostly over the petty disputes of their Kings. It was Arthur who had been pushing him to make contact with Cendrid for months now. However, when a truce was finally being struck, Arthur wasn't happy with it. While Uther sympathized with Arthur's anger, there was going to be no turning back, the treaty was in the best interest of Camelot and it would only be a matter of time before Arthur saw that.
"I was told you were waiting here for me," Uther stated while walking past Arthur. Uther knew that he going to be subjected to yelling when he heard Arthur breathing heavily.
"Just when exactly were you told that?" Arthur clipped out. "Because I have been waiting here for three damn hours!" Arthur continued his pacing for a few more moments while Uther settled down on his throne. "You…." he began.
"Me?"
Arthur suddenly stopped his pacing and jabbed his index finger at Uther, "Yes you! You had no right to have that treaty drawn up without consulting me!"
Uther rose quickly and stormed up to Arthur, "I was unaware that I needed to consult you at all. Need I remind you that, I am King, not you! And you would do well to remember it!"
Father and son stood mere feet away from each other, each breathing like they had just competed in a tournament. It was Uther who broke the silence first, "I know you are not happy with the treaty Arthur, but it is for the good of Camelot."
"No father, what would have been best for Camelot is if you hadn't entered into this stupid war with Cendrid to begin with!" Arthur found his irritation rising again. But before he had a chance to continue, Uther exploded.
"That is enough! I have tried being understanding, but I will not have you questioning the way I rule. When you are King, you can decide which wars to partake in. Until then, you will follow orders, and that includes following through with the treaty." Uther made his way back to his throne and sat down.
"King Cendrid's daughter, Morgana, will be coming to Camelot as my ward and that is final."
Turning on his heel, Arthur strode out of the throne room and immediately began towards Gaius' living quarters.
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It took only minutes for Arthur to reach his destination, after noticing light coming from under the door, he opened the door while knocking. Barely acknowledging Gaius, Arthur went up to Merlin's door and swung it open.
"Merlin! I want you to polish my armor for tomorrow, we're practicing your mace work," Arthur barked out the order before he had fully entered the room. Arthur hadn't known what he was going to say when he got up to Merlin's room, but he decided that if he was going to be miserable, then Merlin should be as well.
Merlin sat up quickly and tried to hide his spell book underneath his pillow before Arthur noticed it. Luckily, Arthur was too busy looking around the room in disgust to bother noticing a book. Merlin was already pulling on his boots when a question popped into his head, "Why would you want me to polish your armor if we are just going to be practicing?
"Why haven't you gotten it through your thick skull that I give the orders, and you follow them? Honestly, I don't think I could have found a more incompetent servant if I had tried." Arthur knew he was being a prat, but at the moment he couldn't help but resort back to his old ways. He thought he might have gone too far though when he heard Merlin's short answer.
"It will be clean by morning." Merlin wasn't truly hurt by Arthur's statement, he had long ago realized Arthur's tendency to lash out when he was upset by something. It was only a matter of time before he calmed down and was ready to talk.
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The next morning Arthur woke up to see Merlin bringing in his freshly polished armor. It took only a few seconds for a wave of guilt to spread through Arthur. The entire way back to his room the previous night, Arthur had thought about Merlin's clipped answer. He came to the conclusion that even though he was angry, he shouldn't have ordered Merlin to stay up and polish his armor.
"About time you woke up," Merlin stated when he saw that Arthur had finally awaken. "You should sleep this late all the time, it meant that I wasn't late."
Arthur stared at Merlin for a minute, trying to gauge whether or not all was forgiven for his previous attitude. He was still on the edge till Merlin flashed him a small smile. "Yeah, well don't get used to it." Arthur paused, pretending to think, "You know, if you got more sleep, then you would probably get here on time."
"I would do that, except some prat keeps giving me chores to do all night. Think I should tell him to shove off?"
Arthur cracked a smile, something that was very rare the day before. "Unless you want more mace practice, I wouldn't if I were you."
"Let's not then," Merlin blurted out while visibly paling. He began to help Arthur dress and as he was sliding on Arthur's jacket he had to ask, "So, do you want to tell me know why you were throwing a tantrum yesterday? Or are you just going to wait till you're beating me with a mace?"
Arthur's humor quickly disappeared. He didn't know whether or not he should tell Merlin about the treaty. Certain aspects of it were never going to be made public. Did he trust Merlin enough to keep it a secret?
His decision made he began to speak, "My father has drawn up a treaty with King Cendrid of Valeska to end the war between Camelot and Valeska."
"Arthur, that is fantastic. Why would that…"
"As part of the treaty, Princess Morgana will be coming to Camelot as my father's ward."
Merlin was stumped, he didn't see why Princess Morgana coming to Camelot would anger Arthur so much. "And….?"
Arthur scoffed, "You don't get it do you."
Shaking his head, Merlin replied, "Not in the slightest."
"Morgana isn't coming here just to be my father's ward. As the final part of the treaty…"
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"Arthur Pendragon! You have got to be kidding me! I will not marry him." Morgana flew out of her chair and stared at her father.
"Now Morgana, this isn't about you, it's about Valeska. We are running out of supplies and troops. We can no longer fund a war between us and Camelot."
"So, I am to be sold to Camelot, to end a war that we shouldn't have started in the first place?"
"If you care to look at it that way, then yes." Cendrid didn't sympathize with Morgana, this was an easy way to get out of the war. It was only a matter of time before he had to find a husband for Morgana anyways. And most kingdoms were scrambling for an alliance with Camelot.
Morgana understood that she didn't really have a choice, Valeska needed the war to end. That knowledge didn't stop her bitterness though. Halting her pacing she faced her father once more, "I have never even seen him, how do you expect me to marry him?"
Cendrid and Uther had been prepared for their children to balk at the idea of marrying each other. "Dear Morgana, that is why you are going to Camelot as King Uther's ward. You need not marry Arthur till the two of you are ready."
King Cendrid hesitated a moment to make sure Morgana was listening, "However, I strongly recommend that you become ready as soon as possible."
Understanding the clear message, Morgana swiftly decided to ignore it. She would hold off a marriage with Arthur of Camelot as long as she could. "Of course father."
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Don't worry, Morgana and Arthur are not going to fall madly in love anytime soon. That just isn't as much fun.
And sorry about the lack of Gwen. I couldn't find a good place to put some interaction between Merlin and her. I will work on that for the next chapter.
Honest responses are more than welcome.
